Msia

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by rsvedin, Jun 10, 2009.

Loading...
  1. rsvedin

    rsvedin New Member

    Hi,
    I've been researching graduate programs for a couple weeks now. I was hoping some of you which have gone through them or are currently going through them could help me out a bit.

    I'm interested in a Masters degree in Information Assurance or Computer Information Systems with a specialization in IA.

    I do NOT want to take a GRE or GMAT. I also would like to keep the tuition under $20k since I will be be paying out of pocket / financing part of it.

    I've really been looking at two schools. University of Dallas and Capitol College.

    UD has a more well known name than CC and higher ranking (UD is a tier 1 school, CC is unranked). What advantage in the real world would that name and ranking actually bring?

    CC seems to have a bit of a better program than UD, which to me is a bit more technical program. Any thoughts on that?

    Are there any other schools which I have completely missed which I should consider?

    Thanks in advance!

    Ryan
     
  2. BlueMason

    BlueMason Audaces fortuna juvat

  3. FLA Expatriate

    FLA Expatriate New Member

    I took 2 graduate IA courses through University of Dallas. The level of instruction is very engaging, but tuition is expensive. UD uses eCollege for DL courses.
     
  4. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

    Dakota State University offers MSIA with low tuition, no GRE is required if you have higher GPA. URL: http://www.dsu.edu/msia/

    - Norwich University also offer MSIA.
    - Lewis University (IL) offers MS in Information Security
    - There are more!!!
     
  5. rsvedin

    rsvedin New Member

    Thanks for the input. I don't have a really good reason for not taking the GRE except that I don't want to study for it :p

    I'm getting married next month and have spent most of my time getting ready for that and when I get back I was hoping it would be almost time to start school, not study for a test. Plus this might not allow me to start in fall quarter which I was hoping for.

    I contacted DSU so we'll see how that goes. If anyone else has any input, I'd appreciate it.

    Thanks again!
     
  6. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    Are Information Assurance and Information Security the same thing or different? I've included Information Systems/Information Technology related master's degrees (MS as well as MBA) in my MBA Sticky http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=27695. Just off the top of my head, the University of Arkansas Little Rock www.ualr.edu offers an MS in Information Quality by distance learning. I'm sure there are many others.
     
  7. scubasteveiu

    scubasteveiu New Member

    Think of IA as an umbrella which encompasses InfoSec.

    Overview here - bold says it best:

    Information assurance is closely related to information security and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. However, IA’s broader connotation also includes reliability and emphasizes strategic risk management over tools and tactics. In addition to defending against malicious hackers and code (e.g., viruses), IA includes other corporate governance issues such as privacy, compliance, audits, business continuity, and disaster recovery. Further, while information security draws primarily from computer science, IA is interdisciplinary and draws from multiple fields, including accounting, fraud examination, forensic science, management science, systems engineering, security engineering, and criminology, in addition to computer science. Therefore, IA is best thought of as a superset of information security. Information assurance is not just Computer Security because it includes security issues that do not involve computers.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_assurance
     
  8. bishop

    bishop New Member

    Hey Ryan, I heard nothing but good things about Capitol College. If you're planning on enrolling for IA, I would definitely chose CC for you masters degree. GRE is not a requirement for acceptance with this graduate program. The entire program will cost around $20K, give or take a few dollars.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 15, 2009
  9. nyfaisal

    nyfaisal New Member

    Take GMAT. The verbal portion does not require any vocubulary build up, and you may ace that part easily if you're a native speaker. Just try to do OK in gmat parts by reviewing the official guide examples. We're having a baby next month, and I managed to score 80th percentile with little studying on the train rides back home after work.

    GRE requires you to know a lot of dictionary words. But it's cheaper. You may as well take that and score ANY number. As long as you had a GPA close to 3.0 in undergrad, you will be able to get into a decent school.

    One thing I reliazed is that the schools are willing to take anyone in this economy. I just got an email from NYU part time MBA program that they're still taking applications (their official deadline passed on May 15th).

    I'd give it a shot...on a weekend...just take the exam and see
     

Share This Page